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Fernandez Defeats Pogge In Backwards Goaltending Duel As Bruins Win 7-5 |
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Are you a diehard fan of tight, low scoring games? You know, the ones filled with brilliant performances in net by positionally sound, solid as a rock goaltenders? Do you get giddy over the sight of spectacularly stingy defensive play? If the previous statements are true, the results of watching last night's matchup between the Bruins and Leafs may have been detrimental to your health, if not fatal.
However, if you're a huge fan of watching sloppy play, turnovers, and goaltenders entirely incapable of squaring up to shooters or staying on their feet long enough to not give gifted NHL shooters the entire top shelf to fire away at...you may have found your own little piece of heaven watching this 7-5 barnburner.
Manny Fernandez got a rare nod between the pipes and did little to boost what little faith the Bruins' coaching staff seems to have in him these days.
The admittedly injured netminder (back issues) lost his bid for a shutout at the 4:01 mark (55:59 away, so close) when Nikolai Kulemin managed to tip one by him, after Fernandez made an errant poke-check attempt, to give the Leafs an early 1-0 lead. It was the beginning of an ass backwards goaltending duel. Rather than try to outshine one another, the two netminders seemed to be making valiant efforts to out-fail their opponent between the pipes.
Chuck Kobasew, the team leader in goals since the All Star break, responded for Boston just 1:39 later, curling in off the boards and sending one past Justin Pogge to knot things up.
Pogge's first mishap came when Michael Ryder, after making a nice pass to himself off the boards behind the net, came out in front and had enough open net to backhand a basketball through, let alone a puck, as the Leafs' netminder blatantly failed to hug the near post.
But Fernandez quickly answered back, allowing John Mitchell to snap one by him on the PP and tie things back up, this time at two apiece. Fernandez refused to stop there. With 3:00 left in the first he failed to come out and challenge Alexei Ponikarovsky, and seemingly attempted to stack his pads when the puck was already well on its way to finding twine. It looked like when you decide to play net in NHL '09 and, in a moment of indecisiveness, press the wrong button three seconds too late and look like an absolute bonehead in front of all of your friends/disgruntled teammates.
Pogge then let another one in with 30 ticks left as Mark Recchi tipped one by him to tie things up at 3-3. Luckily for Manny, Recchi's goal could not be blamed on the young Pogge, so his soft-goal superiority was still secure.
After an ugly Aaron Ward giveaway led to Poni's second goal of the game to again give the Leafs a lead, this time 4-3, Recchi tickled the twine for the second time with another dandy of a tip to knot things up once more. Pogge was giving his all to out-fail Fernandez all period. Ignoring his equipment designed to actually make stops, the rookie netminder elected to utilize his shoulders, helmet, and everything shy of the laces of his skates to stop the puck.
Pogge's negligence finally paid off at the 11:30 mark as Shawn Thornton spun around and fired one at him from half a mile away, somehow finding the back of the net. Ron Wilson, with his team now trailing 5-4, called a timeout to calm things down. But much to Pogge's disappointment, he could not be found at fault when David Krejci broke in alone and squeaked one by him just 50 seconds after Thornton's ugly tally. With the score now 6-4, Pogge was robbed of any future chances to let in a softy as Wilson elected to pull him, sending Curtis Joseph into action.
Knowing Fernandez needed just one more weak goal to win the award for game's most god awful goaltender, he plopped down on the end of the Leafs' bench overcome with sheer anxiety. He watched nervously as Fernandez somehow regained his form from the first half of the season, looking as sharp as ever, thwarting one high quality scoring chance after another.
With less than six minutes to play, Pogge's hopes for a split decision seemed more and more realistic. Then suddenly, as Niklas Hagman collected a loose puck in front of Fernandez, his dreams died. Manny sat down in his crease and shouted "top corner!" as he buried his head in his chest. Hagman complied and roofed one over the hopeless goaltender and brought Toronto back to within 7-5.
With his personal victory over Pogge sealed, Fernandez resumed his bid to look like a goaltender readily available for emergency duty in the postseason. He shut out the Leafs' desperate attack the rest of the way as the Bruins held on for a 7-5 win. Despite out-gaffing the opposing starter, Fernandez managed to do just enough to secure his first win since January 8th.
FIVE KEYS REVISITED
1. Exploit their woeful PK.
Result: PASS! Two of the B's seven goals came on the PP, which has looked as sharp as ever with Matt Hunwick and Dennis Wideman on the top unit (both had three assists).
2. Neutralize Ponikarovsky and Grabovski.
Result: EPIC FAIL! The two combined for 2-3-5 totals and led the charge for the Leafs.
3. Survive without the Thrill. Someone has to step forward and bury the biscuit in his absence.
Result: PASS! Seven goals tells the story here.
4. Wake up Krejci!
Result: PASS! Krejci with a beauty of a breakaway goal and an assist to boot.
5. Don't fall asleep. If the Bruins secure a lead they need to stay sharp in their own end but keep applying pressure down the other end.
Result: PASS! The Bruins quickly turned a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead, and aside from Hagman's goal, really tightened up and got enough necessary saves from Fernandez to keep the Leafs at bay.
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